EP1546642B1 - Method of isotropic deployment of the penetrators of a kinetic energy rod warhead with imploding charge - Google Patents

Description

FIELD OF THE INVENTION
• This invention relates to improvements in kinetic energy rod warheads.
RELATED APPLICATIONS
• This application claims priority ofU.S. Provisional Application No. 60/406,828 filed August 29, 2002. This application is related toU.S. Application No. 09/938,022 filed August 23, 2001.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
• Destroying missiles, aircraft, re-entry vehicles and other targets falls into three primary classifications: "hit-to-kill" vehicles, blast fragmentation warheads, and kinetic energy rod warheads.
• "Hit-to-kill" vehicles are typically launched into a position proximate a re-entry vehicle or other target via a missile such as the Patriot, Trident or MX missile. The kill vehicle is navigable and designed to strike the re-entry vehicle to render it inoperable. Countermeasures, however, can be used to avoid the "hit-to-kill" vehicle. Moreover, biological warfare bomblets and chemical warfare submunition payloads are carried by some threats and one or more of these bomblets or chemical submunition payloads can survive and cause heavy casualties even if the "hit-to-kill" vehicle accurately strikes the target
• Blast fragmentation type warheads are designed to be carried by existing missiles. Blast fragmentation type warheads, unlike "hit-to-kill" vehicles, are not navigable. Instead, when the missile carrier reaches a position close to an enemy missile or other target, a pre-made band of metal on the warhead is detonated and the pieces of metal are accelerated with high velocity and strike the target. The fragments, however, are not always effective at destroying the target and, again, biological bomblets and/or chemical submunition payloads survive and cause heavy casualties,
• The textbook by the inventor hereof,R. Lloyd, "conventional Warhead Systems Physics and Engineering Design," Progress in Astronautics and Aeronautics (AIAA) Book Series, Vol. 179, ISBN 1-56347-255-4, 1998, incorporated herein by this reference, provides additional details concerning "hit-to-kill" vehicles and blast fragmentation type warheads. Chapter 5 of that textbook, proposes a kinetic energy rod warhead.
• The two primary advantages of a kinetic energy rod warheads is that 1) it does not rely on precise navigation as is the case with "hit-to-kill" vehicles and 2) it provides better penetration then blast fragmentation type warheads.
• The primary components associated with a conventional kinetic energy rod warhead is a hull, or a housing, a single projectile core or bay in the hull including a number of individual lengthy cylindrical projectiles, and an explosive charge in the center of the projectiles. When the explosive charge is detonated, the projectiles are deployed to impinge upon a re-entry vehicle, missile or other target hopefully destroying it and all the submunitions such as biological warfare bomblets or chemical warfare submunition payloads it carries.
• A center core explosive charge in conjunction with an aimable rod warhead may result in a complex design, may occupy an inordinate amount of space, and add mass to the warhead.
• Patent No.DE 19524 726 relates to a warhead casing to be forcibly broken by detonation. As disclosed therein, projectiles are directed in a transverse direction only.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
• This invention features a method of isotropically deploying the penetrators of a kinetic energy rod warhead, the method including the steps of: disposing a plurality of individual penetrators in the core of a hull surrounded by explosive charge section, and simultaneously detonating the charge sections to implode the core and isotropically deploy the penetrators in an isotropic pattern perpendicular with respect to a center axis.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
• Other objects, features and advantages will occur to those skilled in the art from the following description of a preferred embodiment and the accompanying drawings, in which:
• Fig. 1 is schematic view showing the typical deployment of a "hit-to-kill" vehicle in accordance with the prior art;
• Fig. 2 is schematic view showing the typical deployment of a prior art blast fragmentation type warhead;
• Fig. 3 is schematic view showing the deployment of a theoretical kinetic energy rod warhead system;
• Fig. 4A is a schematic cross-section view of one embodiment of the primary components of the method of isotropically firing the projectiles;
• Fig. 4B is a schematic cross-sectional view showing the simultaneous detonation of explosive sections of the warhead shown inFig. 4A and the resulting shockwaves produced in accordance with the method of this invention;
• Fig. 4C is a schematic cross-sectional view of the kinetic energy rod warhead shown inFig. 4B showing the circular isotropic pattern of rods produced in accordance with the method of this invention;
• Fig. 5 is a flow chart showing the primary steps of the method of isotropically deploying the penetrators of the kinetic energy rod warhead of this invention.
DISCLOSURE OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
• Aside from the preferred embodiment or embodiments disclosed below, this invention is capable of other embodiments and of being practiced or being carried out in various ways. Thus, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited in its application to the details of construction and the arrangements of components set forth in the following description or illustrated in the drawings.
• As discussed in the Background section above, "hit-to-kill" vehicles are typically launched into a position proximate are-entry vehicle 10,Fig. 1 or other target via amissile 12. "Hit-to-kill"vehicle 14 is navigable and designed to strikere-entry vehicle 10 to render it inoperable. Countermeasures, however, can be used to avoid the kill vehicle.Vector 16 shows killvehicle 14missing re-entry vehicle 10. Moreover, biological bomblets andchemical submunition payloads 18 are carried by some threats and one or more of these bomblets orchemical submunition payloads 18 can survive, as shown at 20, and cause heavy casualties even if killvehicle 14 does accurately striketarget 10.
• Turning toFig. 2, blastfragmentation type warhead 32 is designed to be carried bymissile 30. When the missile reaches a position close to an enemy re-entry vehicle (RV), missile, orother target 36, a pre-made band of metal or fragments on the warhead is detonated and the pieces ofmetal 34strike target 36. The fragments, however, are not always effective at destroying the submunition target and, again, biological bomblets and/or chemical submunition payloads can survive and cause heavy casualties.
• The textbook by the inventor hereof,R. Lloyd, "Conventional Warhead Systems Physics and Engineering Design," Progress in Astronautics and Aeronautics (AIAA) Book Series, Vol. 179, ISBN 1-56347-255-4, 1998 provides additional details concerning "hit-to-kill" vehicles and blast fragmentation type warheads, Chapter 5 of that textbook proposes a kinetic energy rod warhead.
• One idea behind the subject invention is a warhead designed to deploy penetrators (rods or projectiles) in the trajectory path of a target by simultaneously detonating the explosive charge sections located about the hull of a kinetic energy warhead to create an implosion effect which acts on the core section of the warhead with penetrators therein. The resulting rebound energy created from the implosion effect on the core section ejects the penetrators in an isotropic pattern about the axis of the warhead.
• In one embodiment, kinetic energy warhead with imploding charges for isotropicallyfiring projectiles 100,Fig. 4A includeshull 102 andcore 104 therein.Core 104 includes a plurality ofindividual penetrators 106, such as tungsten, titanium, or tantalum rods, and the like, which are typically individual lengthy cylindrical projectiles. Warhead 100 further includes explosive charge sections 108-122 surroundingcore 104. Detonators 124-138 (typically chip slapper type detonators) are used to initiate explosive charge sections 108-122, respectively; e.g.,detonator 124 initiatesexplosive charge section 108;detonator 126 initiatesexplosive charge section 110. Detonators 124-138 and explosive charge sections 108-122 are arranged to implode oncore 104 and isotropically deploy the plurality ofindividual penetrators 106. In one design, the simultaneous firing of detonators 124-138 initiates explosive charge sections 108-122, respectively, and produces an implosion effect, e.g. shock waves, oncore 104, as shown by arrows 140-154,Fig 4B. The imploding shock waves travel through the plurality ofpenetrators 106 withincore 104 and reflects back after intersecting withcenter 159 ofcore 104, thus generating rebound energy, as indicated byarrows 162, 164, and 166,Fig. 4C. The energy of the rebound is sufficient to eject plurality ofpenetrators 106 about thewarhead 100 in circularisotropic pattern 170 of penetrators aboutwarhead 100. Oncewarhead 100 is in position, a circularisotropic pattern 170 of penetrators is deployed which effectively destroys enemy missiles, aircraft, R.Vs, biological warfare bomblets and chemical bomblets, as well as any other enemy target. A unique feature of circularisotropic pattern 170 of penetrators is that missile orwarhead 100 appears larger than it actually is. Warhead 100 (e.g., an anti-ballistic missile) appears larger relative to the target because the projectiles (penetrators 106) are deployed in a 360 degree pattern (isotropic pattern 170) about the axis ofwarhead 100. In effect, the diameter ofwarhead 100 has increased by the dense radius of the spray pattern (isotropic pattern 170). These highly dense projectiles obtain high overall lethality whenwarhead 100 falls short of hitting the sweet spot of the payload.
• As shown inFig. 4A, kineticenergy rod warhead 100 includes explosive charge sections 124-138 inhull 102 aboutcore 104 withpenetrators 106 therein. Shields, such asshield 180, separate explosive charge sections (e.g.,shield 180 separatesexplosive charge sections 108 and 110).Shield 180 may be made of a composite material, such as a steel core sandwiched between inner and outer lexan layers to prevent the detonation of one explosive charge section from detonating the other explosive charge sections.
• In the prior art, isotropic deployment was possible but only with an explosive charge disposed in the center of a single set of projectiles. That design, in some cases, was somewhat complex, resulted in the explosive charge occupying an inordinate amount of space adding mass to the kinetic energy rod warhead and also resulted in less projectiles and hence less lethality. This prior art design in conjunction with an aimable kinetic energy device also requires added detonators and logic.
• A unique feature ofwarhead 100 with explosive charge sections 124-138 located aboutcore 104 is that the need for a complex center core explosive charge is eliminated, hence simplifying the design ofwarhead 100. The overall mass ofwarhead 100 is thus reduced as is the amount of space required by the explosive charge sections, hence providing more space forprojectiles 106 which increases the lethality ofwarhead 100.
• In some engagements that have a very small miss distance the predictor fuze may not know the exact location to deploy the rods (e.g., projectiles). In accordance with the subject invention,warhead 100 is designed to implode or pinch the rods (projectiles 106) away fromwarhead 100 without the need to add additional hardware to achieve such deployment.
• The method of isotropically deploying the penetrators of a kinetic energy warhead of this invention includes the steps of: disposing a plurality ofindividual penetrators 106,Fig. 4A incore 104 ofhull 102 surrounded by explosive charge sections 108-122,step 300,Fig. 5; and detonating charge sections 108-122,Fig. 4A to implodecore 104 and isotropically deploypenetrators 106,Fig. 4C,step 302,Fig. 5. All the charge sections are detonated simultaneously, e.g., explosive charge sections 108-122,Fig. 4A to create acircular spray pattern 170,Fig. 4C.
• Although specific features of the invention are shown in some drawings and not in others, this is for convenience only as each feature may be combined with any or all of the other features in accordance with the invention. The words "including", "comprising", "having", and "with" as used herein are to be interpreted broadly and comprehensively and are not limited to any physical interconnection. Moreover, any embodiments disclosed in the subject application are not to be taken as the only possible embodiments.
• Other embodiments will occur to those skilled in the art and are within the following claim:

Claims (1)

1. A method of isotropically deploying the penetrators of a kinetic energy rod warhead, the method comprising:

   disposing a plurality of individual penetrators (106) in the core (104) of a hull (102) surrounded by explosive charge sections (110, 112, 114, 116, 118, 120, 122); and

   simultaneously detonating the charge sections to implode (140, 142, 144, 146, 148, 150, 152, 154) the core and isotropically deploy the penetrators (106) in an isotropic pattern perpendicular with respect to a center axis (159) of the core (104).

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